Human Resources Manager and two other friends are playing Angry Birds
Victoria University Law School graduate Blake Skelton has recently had his application to law firm Adams Simmons and Saunders rejected, with his Facebook profile cited as the firm’s main disincentive to offer him a position.
Adams Simmons and Saunders’ Human Resources Manager Michaela Watson, who was contacted by Salient about the matter, stood by the firm’s decision.
“Yes, we do use Facebook to learn more about applicants,” she said. “Some people see this as an unfair tactic, but those tend to be the people who have the most prejudicial material on their Facebook web pages. It’s become something of a convention for employers and it’s entirely legitimate.
“The applicant in question had some disgusting content on his Facebook page—there were comments on his wall making reference to occasions when he had vomited all over himself and even defecated in his own pants.
“There were photographs of the young man having to be put to bed by an unidentified acquaintance. There were even photographs of him lying around the house naked. That isn’t the sort of person we hire here,” asserted Watson.
The photograph album that Watson is referring to is entitled ‘When We Were Young’, and contains photographs from a family Christmas holiday in 1990, when Skelton was two-years-old.
Though Skelton was aware that potential employers occasionally use Facebook as an informal background check, he believes that his beloved memories from childhood should not have restricted him from obtaining employment.
“Granted, mum made a joke on my wall about me vomiting, but that’s from when I was two,” said Skelton. “I was carsick on the drive home from Nelson for God’s sake! And I’m pretty sure she’s talking about photos of me as a baby, I was two!” wailed Skelton.
After Skelton was denied the position, his then-girlfriend Danielle Farley discovered the sordid photos on his profile and has since left him. “I didn’t think Blake was like that, you know, such a pervert… such an exhibitionist, but there he is, naked, all over the Internet for the world to see,” sobbed Farley.